DURRANT QUITS SAYING HE’S QUITTING

GLEN DURRANT announced he is stepping off the professional darts hamster wheel – then insisted he has not retired.

After losing his Tour card on the PDC circuit, following two barren seasons, threetimes Lakeside world champion Duzza (far right) appeared to suggest he was quitting.

His form fell off a cliff after he contracted Covid in late 2020 and he has dropped out of the world’s top 64.

Durrant, 52, seemed to be waving goodbye when he tweeted: “Well, that’s it – I’m no longer a pro darts player.

“Part relief, part incredible disappointment. New chapter in my life starts today.”

But after hundreds of messages from well-wishers, the man who made history by winning the Premier League at the first attempt two years ago issued an urgent clarification.

He said: “I’ve not retired, just no longer a pro player. Watch me smash Q school in 2024. You’ve been warned!” Durrant’s name was missing from the draw for next month’s Cazoo PDC World Championship at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright (left) opens the defence of his title against Mickey Mansell or New Zealand’s Ben Robb, while Gerwyn Price could face Ukrainian qualifier Vladyslav Omelchenko.